14 November 2018

Six eminent professors have been awarded the Infosys Prize 2018 across different categories of science and research, the software major’s science foundation announced on Tuesday.

The annual award includes a pure gold medal, a citation and a prize purse worth $100,000 (~ 72 Lakhs in Indian rupees), the Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) said in a statement.

The prize for Life Sciences was awarded to Roop Mallik, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai for his work on molecular motor proteins, which are crucial for the functioning of living cells.

Mr. Mallik has identified and measured forces needed to transport large particles inside cells, and demonstrated their role in fundamental processes such as targeting pathogens for their destruction and moving lipid droplets for fatty acid regulation in the liver.